Telecom
Nigeria to Lead Africa in AI, Blockchain Technology – NITDA DG

Mr. Kashifu Inuwa, director general of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA ), said Nigeria will lead other African countries in artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain technology.
He said this will lead to the economic diversification of the continent.
Inuwa made this claim on Wednesday at the Digital Africa 2021 virtual conference and exhibition where he spoke about “Building a New Africa with AI and Blockchain”.
He said that with the continent’s population growth and declining oil revenues, especially in Nigeria , there was a need to tap into other areas to diversify the economy.
Emerging technology is one such area, he said, and will play an important role in economic diversification.
“Digital technologies are changing the world at a faster rate than the waves of technological innovation seen before.
“Nigeria needs to accelerate its growth and modernize its economy through the development of a digitally driven growth strategy for the Nigerian economy.
“It is relevant to note that despite the economic shocks from the COVID-19 pandemic, most of the growth seen in economies has come from viable digital economies.
“The digital economy has been identified as an engine of growth, so Nigeria can harness it as an engine of growth and innovation,” he said.
The head of NITDA affirmed that the World Bank Group’s initiative on the digital economy for Africa (DE4A) supports the digital transformation strategy for Africa, prepared by the African Union (AU).
He also stressed that the DE4A initiative recognizes that the digital economy can help accelerate the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He said that recently there was a call to action with the unveiling of the “Economic Sustainability Plan 2020”, which aimed to put technology at the forefront of development in Nigeria.
Inuwa said the conference was a meeting point for professionals, practitioners and policy makers to reflect on how best to harness these technologies for the benefit of citizens.
“For Nigeria, a country in desperate need of diversifying its economy, digital economic activities are essential for diversification as they transcend all aspects of human endeavor and the economic sector,” he said.
He pointed out that at NITDA, the development and use of emerging technologies was one of the strategic pillars of the agency’s 2021-2024 roadmap and action plan.
To drive this pillar, he said the agency is working with relevant stakeholders and researchers to secure AI, blockchain and other emerging technologies to support the country’s economic diversification and sustainability plan.
He reiterated that the focus on economic progress in sub-Saharan Africa, taking advantage of emerging technologies, especially AI, blockchain, Internet of Things and 5G, was highly commendable and appropriate.
He urged stakeholders present at the event to build the partnerships and collaborations necessary to make Nigeria a leading digital and knowledge economy by 2030.
Keynote speaker for the event, Professor Umar Danbatta, Executive Vice President of the Nigeria Communications Commission (NCC), urged Africa to take advantage of the unprecedented volume of data being generated on sentiment, behavior, human health, commerce, communications, migration and more.
“The adoption of AI solutions is expected to increase dramatically over the next few years and competition among large AI companies is expected to be intense.
“In a recent report released by Markets and Markets (M&M), the size of the global AI market is expected to grow from $ 58.3 billion in 2021 to $ 309.6 billion by 2026.
“It’s a compound of a whopping 39.7% growth rate over the forecast period,” Danbatta said.
He explained that BlockChain was the basis of cryptocurrency such as bitcoin; one of the newest technologies that has received considerable global attention in recent times.
According to him, BlockChain served as the immutable metric that allowed transactions to take place and its applications are emerging, spanning many areas including financial services, rebuttal systems, the Internet of Things (IoT), health, among others.
Danbatta also said that robust and reliable broadband infrastructure and cutting-edge technology, such as the 5th generation (5G) network, are needed to unlock the enormous economic potential of AI and BlockChain in every. country.
He reiterated that African countries including Nigeria must be positioned to take advantage of the huge revenues from AI technologies, BlockChain in particular, over the next five years to make way for a digital economy.
AI refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions, while Blockchain technology is a structure that stores transactional records, also known as block, of the public in multiple databases. of data, called a string.
Telecom
Gombe Commissioner of Police Visits GBB Command Centre, Strengthens Collaboration on ICT-Driven Security Solutions

Galaxy Backbone (GBB) Limited welcomed the newly appointed Commissioner of Police for Gombe State, CP Bello Yahaya, on a courtesy visit to its North East Regional Office and Safe City Emergency Command Centre.
This visit underscored the growing synergy between law enforcement and technology-driven solutions in strengthening security operations and fostering digital transformation in the region.
During the visit, CP Bello Yahaya was received by Mr. Ibrahim Bello, Regional Coordinator of GBB North East Regional Office, alongside key members of the GBB team.
The engagement provided a platform to explore strategic collaborations aimed at enhancing security infrastructure, digital transformation, and capacity-building initiatives for the Gombe State Police Command.
The Commissioner was taken on a guided tour of the Safe City Emergency Command Centre, a state-of-the-art facility that forms a critical part of the National Information and Communications Technology Infrastructure Backbone (NICTIB) project.
The centre plays a pivotal role in improving security architecture across Gombe State and the North East region, leveraging cutting-edge surveillance systems, real-time monitoring tools, and integrated emergency response mechanisms.
With its advanced Unified Communications System, security analytics, and digital emergency response coordination, the Safe City Command Centre provides law enforcement with real-time intelligence, proactive threat detection, and seamless inter-agency collaboration, enabling a more effective and responsive approach to public safety.
CP Bello Yahaya expressed keen interest in leveraging ICT solutions to strengthen policing efforts, emphasizing the importance of technology in modern crime prevention, data-driven policing, and crisis management.
He highlighted the need for enhanced digital transformation, improved connectivity, and expanded training programs to equip officers with the necessary skills to operate effectively in a digitally evolving security landscape.
Galaxy Backbone reaffirmed its commitment to supporting law enforcement agencies, government institutions, and critical stakeholders through innovative ICT solutions, secure cloud infrastructure, and digital training programs.
By providing access to high-speed connectivity, cybersecurity frameworks, and cloud-powered command centres, GBB continues to drive the adoption of smart policing solutions and enhanced security management across Nigeria.
The visit concluded with a shared commitment to deepening engagement between Galaxy Backbone and the Gombe State Police Command, focusing on optimizing digital transformation initiatives for law enforcement efficiency, expanding the scope of ICT-driven surveillance and emergency response systems and strengthening training programs for officers to enhance digital skills and operational effectiveness.
As Nigeria’s leading digital infrastructure provider, Galaxy Backbone continues to shape the future of public safety, digital governance, and cybersecurity, ensuring that law enforcement agencies have access to the best tools to protect lives and property.
Telecom
Salesforce Collaborates with Tech Leaders to Launch AI Energy Score for Model Efficiency

Salesforce, in collaboration with Hugging Face, Cohere, and Carnegie Mellon University, announced the release of the AI Energy Score, a first-of-its-kind benchmarking tool that lets AI developers and users evaluate, identify, and compare the energy consumption of AI models.
Salesforce also announced it will be the first AI model developer to disclose the energy efficiency data of its proprietary models under the new framework.
The AI Energy Score aims to address the lack of transparency about the environmental impact of AI models. Similar to how ENERGY STAR transformed energy efficiency standards for appliances and electronics, this initiative establishes a clear, trusted benchmark for AI model sustainability.
“Reducing AI energy consumption lowers operational costs, optimises infrastructure, and enhances long-term sustainability and profitability. We are proud to work with industry leaders to build a more transparent AI ecosystem,” says Linda Saunders, Salesforce Country Manager and Senior Director of Solution Engineering for Africa.
The AI Energy Score will debut at the AI Action Summit, where leaders from over 100 countries, the private sector, and civil society will convene to harness AI for good. By enhancing transparency, the score can drive market preference for efficient models and incentivise sustainable AI development. Recognised by the French Government and the Paris Peace Forum for its transformative potential, the AI Energy Score features:
Standardised Energy Ratings: A standardised framework for measuring and comparing AI model energy efficiency.
Public Leaderboard: A comprehensive leaderboard that features scores for 10 common AI tasks — such as text generation, image generation, and summarisation — performed by 166 models, including Salesforce’s SFR-Embedding, xLAM, and SF-TextBase.
Benchmarking Portal: A platform where AI developers can submit their open or proprietary AI models to be evaluated and added to the leaderboard. Open models can be automatically tested, while closed models can be evaluated through a secured testing sandbox.
Recognisable Energy Use Label: A new 1- to 5-star label that rates AI model energy use, with five stars indicating the highest efficiency. This helps developers and users easily identify and choose more sustainable models. Once rated, AI developers can generate standardised labels to share their models’ energy score, with built-in guidance on the proper label display for visibility and impact.
Last year, the company introduced Agentforce, the agentic layer of the Salesforce Platform for deploying autonomous AI agents across any business function. Agentforce offers tools to build and customise agents, as well as a library of ready-to-use skills for sales, service, marketing, commerce, Tableau, Slack, and more.
Telecom
Breaking….Tariff Hike: MTN Apologizes to Nigerians but Silent on Reversal

MTN Nigeria Communication Plc has apologised to customers for the 200 per cent tariff hike.
MTN’s apology came in the wake of public outcry for raising tariff above the 50 per cent upward review approved by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC).
The network provider urged netizens to ‘forgive and forget’.
Recall that MTN surprised its customers by raising its 15GB data bundle from N2,000 to N6,000, reflecting 200 per cent hike.
MTN also reviewed the 1.5TB plan from N150,000 to N240,000, which represents a 60 per cent hike.
Before, a 100GB bundle cost N20,000 but the network reviewed a 90GB bundle to N25,000.
The 600GB bundle has been raised from N75,000 to N120,000 for 480GB, representing 60 per cent surge.
The operator has apologized for the increase but no mention was made on whether the data price would be reviewed.
MTN said in a message:
“To our 15G digital bundle lovers,
You dey vex. We know.
We know how upsetting it must have been to suddenly wake up to a 200% increase on your favourite digital bundle.
We could share several reasons, and provide explanahions, bur omo, all that One na story.
We don cast. We get it and admit it. Let’s just say na mistake.
In this love season, don’t stay angry with us. Please Forgive and forget. You matter die and we will never stop showing you how much.
Let’s continue our relationship.
Thank you for your understanding.
Yours Truly,
MTN Nigeria”
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